Tag Archives: prosperity

Simple Steps for Building Networks to Raise Money

Collaborative Networking Events – THE way to spread your wings and SOAR! This is when you partner a business, nonprofit, sponsor and attendees. The business and the sponsor may be one in the same.

Business – provides location
Sponsor – pays for event amenities (food, etc)
Non-profit – featured during presentation
Attendees come to NETWORK and will see the presentation

The Collaborative Networking Event is a mix n’ mingle partnered between two presentations. SOAR is an acronym for a relationship management style. Network Fundraising is the system. SOAR with Network Fundraising is described in a book – by the same name. There are also educational platforms described on the website. soarwithnetworkfundraising.org

Why network at all?

Develop relationships for business
Grow market share
Create sustainability

When does networking really work?

Growth happens within your network because of reciprocal services you provide to others
Reciprication happens when you’re giving back in meaningful ways because you know what someone values.

Networking methods – there are many. The one to consider, which happens officially in three meetings, is 1:1 networking.

Meeting #1
- Learn more about the individual
- Listen to ideas
- Determine where there’s an overlap
- Mutually share information about networks
Meeting #2
- Offer support in meaningful ways
- Add value
- Determine how to recognize
- Provide network leads and opportunities
Meeting #3
- Determine the best way to develop a collaboration
- Make the ask

SOAR with Network Fundraising – the book on Amazon – Click to order

Let’s connect on Social Networks

soarwithnetworkfundraising.com (FB)
gaylegross.com (FB)
gayle_gross (Twitter)
Linkedin.com/in/gaylegross (LinkedIn)

The 8th thing to do when asking for money!

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1.) KNOW the person/organization you’re asking. AND, know why they will say yes when you ask for a donation. Ideas for getting to know them:

Invite them to attend activities you’re hosting (when you’re not asking for money or anything else in return) so you can talk and learn
Take a genuine interest in the things they do
Get involved in things they support
Attend something of their choosing

2.) Discover a general overlap of interests. This helps with building lasting relationships. It is always good to focus part of your appointments on a friendly discussion. Ideas:

FORM – family, occupation, relationships and mission/message

3.) Avoid boring anyone with information they already know. ASK for perspectives upfront. Find out what is already known and what participants would like to learn. Questions to ask to get clear:

What would you like to get from today’s meeting?
How would you see me being more involved in your mission?
Do you have a specific interest in the mission I’m involved with?

4.) Set an agenda for your meeting. Let anyone involved with the meeting know the meeting’s agenda. Also, ask anyone involved to add items ahead of time. Tips:

Set the agenda one week in advance
Send the agenda to everyone with a deadline date for adding new items
Always have the last section scheduled for new business and setting the next meeting

5.) Determine mutual benefit. Share this when asking for an appointment. What will the attendees gain through your meeting?

6.) ASK for the donation. Realize the benefit of giving to your organization and feel good about someone doing so. When you know why they will say yes it is time to ask.

7.) Thank everyone involved with a phone call and/or hand written note. Respect and appreciate others for the time they give to you.

If we were to add #8 it would be to attach yourself to a system for fundraising. Whether it is one you develop or one you adopt from someone else. A system is the way you implement fundraising. SOAR lays some groundwork below for our system.

Share your message with others.

Offer opportunities for people to be involved with your mission.

Accept the way people want to participate.

Respect and appreciate others.

We also have a networking event, which helps organizations increase their volunteer base, engage people interested in growing the program, and see the benefit for being involved. Want to learn more? See this link.

Learning to Raise Money

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How fast are you learning to use social media, hash tags, and your phone for everything?! It’s a necessity when doing business these days. What if your job is raising money? How you use the tools improves your chances for being successful. Learning is education and systems are easy to learn when they are introduced step by step.

At SOAR with Network Fundraising there’s a proven system, which works for raising money in any community. You are encouraged to learn more. And, if you want to talk 1:1 then send an email to iwantto@soarwithnetworkfundraising.com and let us know!

The Best Time to Raise Money Is…

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You’ve heard a watched pot never boils. Let’s just say you’re fundraising and pushing to fill the pot. You’re watching, watching, watching and not seeing the huge increases you were hoping for.

The best time to raise money is when you’re not needing to raise money! Watching the pot and expecting it to grow at a specific time is just not reasonable. Raising money is truly a full time activity. For example: You host an annual fundraiser and expect to raise all of the money you need. When this does work it’s because the organization is putting together activities leading up to the event. They work on the program all year long. Their fundraising plan is strategic.

The beginning of a fundraising plan:

How much money by when?
Methods for raising money – past, present and future
Timeline for each method
Participants – past, present and future
Resources (current + what’s needed)
Tracking mechanism
Maintaining focus of your program with your team

Focus more on the steps involved and not a specific event. You will get further faster. The pot will simmer, shake, and create a rolling boil. Before you know it the results you want will be happening because you’re not so focused on the end result.

When Fundraising Comes Easy

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It’s not for everyone – have you heard those words before? Here’s a question for you – is it hard to raise money or do you find it easy? Be honest. It’s Monday morning and maybe you’re working today. You have appointments each day this week with different people you’re cultivating. What’s your biggest challenge in preparing for the visits? Here are some tips:

Know the person you’re meeting with
Outline the steps ahead of time to get you to what you want
Be ready with “next steps”

Fundraising comes more easily when people are prepared. A fundraising plan, all laid out, is a great thing to have in your back pocket (figuratively speaking), for everyone you know. The person being asked to consider a gift – also has to be prepared. Let’s be honest. People around you know your job. They expect at some point to be asked.

Fundraising comes easy to a fundraiser when the person they’re planning to ask is ready to give. The only way to know that is to know the person!

Resolutions Raise Money

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Do you believe resolutions help you raise money? We think of making resolutions for the new year and here we are – already IN 2018 for a week!!

Literally, making a resolution is the act or process of resolving. We often think of ways to improve our lives at the end of a year for the NEXT year. It’s a concept, which really could happen at the end of EVERY MONTH…or EVERY WEEK…or EVERY DAY, right? Why do we wait for the end of the year?

Resolving is the act of analyzing a complex notion into simpler ones. It’s the act of answering or solving. It is determining. Raising money is one of those complex acts, don’t you think? Certainly, it takes time to plan out the steps involved. Fundraisers usually do this by putting together a fundraising plan, which is simple enough. We have a page committed to doing just that at SOAR with Network Fundraising. You can take a look through this link – Click Here! It will give you a step toward a successful resolve.

SOAR also gives flight to fundraising plans through discussions with qualified fundraising professionals. You are guaranteed to resolve a bigger smile! Email iwantto@soarwithnetworkfundraising.com with your interest to learn more.

“NO DOUBT” – A Sign for Raising Money

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A non-profit has many things to focus on and first and foremost it is the service they offer to help others. The mission is most-important – NO DOUBT!

There’s also no doubt when it comes to raising money. A non-profit generally has the majority of their funding acquired through grants and donations. There’s NO DOUBT the people they get their money from can certainly put those resources somewhere else. What happens then? It’s a very difficult time for a non-profit if they haven’t diversified their fundraising.

Think about your own money and the way you approach life. Did your mother ever mention something to you about putting all of your eggs in one basket? Have you found yourself saying the same thing to others? All of your eggs in one basket have a tendency to break when you trip and fall. Having numerous baskets with numerous carriers simply increases the odds of success. The same is true with raising money.

SOAR with Network Fundraising increases the odds of financial sustainability because we help organizations build networks of people, a V-formation, which works together to reach the destination!

It’s time to SOAR, raise more money and reach new heights – there’s NO DOUBT in the minds of successful non-profits who are working to SOAR with Network Fundraising.

The Essay on Life: “To You, I Raise a Cup of Cheer for Prosperity!”

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“Through a life of laughter – I raise my cup of cheer.” I ask – are you a better person now than you were twelve months ago because you rose above and learned through a challenging time?

Napoleon Hill’s essay on life is a good look at perspective on life. Through this link you can hear him talk about it and below it is written out. My hope is that you find peace knowing you’ve done your best in 2017.

Essay on Life By Napoleon Hill

Life, you can’t subdue me because I refuse to take your discipline too seriously. When you try to hurt me, I laugh — and the laughter knows no pain. I appreciate your joys wherever I find them; your sorrows neither frighten nor discourage me, for there is laughter in my soul.

Temporary defeat does not make me sad. I simply set music to the words of defeat and turn it into a song. Your tears are not for me, for I like laughter much better, and because I like it, I use it as a substitute for grief and sorrow and pain and disappointment.

Life, you are a fickle trickster — don’t deny it. You slipped the emotion of love into my heart so that you might use it as a thorn with which to prick my soul — but I learned to dodge your trap with laughter. You tried to lure me with the desire for gold, but I have fooled you by following the trail which leads to knowledge instead. You induced me to build beautiful friendships — then converted my friends to enemies so you may harden my heart, but I sidestepped your figure on this by laughing off your attempts and selecting new friends in my own way.

You caused men to cheat me at trade so I will become distrustful, but I won again because I possess one precious asset which no man can steal — it is the power to think my own thoughts and to be myself. You threaten me with death, but to me death is nothing worse than a long peaceful sleep, and sleep is the sweetest of human experiences — excepting laughter. You build a fire of hope in my heart, then sprinkle water on the flames, but I can go you one better by rekindling the fire — and I laugh at you once more.

You have nothing that can lure me away from laughter, and you are powerless to scare me into submission. To a life of laughter, then, I raise my cup of cheer!

Wishing you a happy and joyful New Year. May you prosper in new ventures and live the life you’ve always dreamed. CHEERS to laughter and your prosperity!

Gayle Gross, Founder and CEO of SOAR with Network Fundraising

WHY Network Fundraising?

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Why not? The sky is the limit.

You are a fundraiser. Do you use your time effectively? Have you ever done the math?

What is the fundraising goal for your organization?
What do you earn per hour as an income? $35,000 per year = $17/hour
How do you fund raise and how much time does each activity require? Grant writing, hosting events, other
How much money are you currently raising per activity?

Sample fundraiser’s scenario: Mary makes $40,000 per year and she does three events per year. One is a golf tournament, which raises $5,000; One is a silent auction and dinner, which raises $12,000 per year; And the last event is a film festival, which raises $20,000. She has nearly covered her salary. Has she made any money for the organization? We can look deeper into the marketing efforts and say there has been an increase in revenue because of exposure. If the fundraising goal was to cover her income I’d say, “Yes, she got the job done when you take into consideration the advertising and potential new business.” Will her boss think she got it done? Depends on the fundraising goal.

Fundraising becomes much easier and more cost-effective when you build networks. It is not challenging to do. It takes some time in conditioning your organization to understand the benefit, which gets you out from behind the desk. Success does not happen overnight but given the right permissions it can happen within six months.